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Wesley Chapel Church near downtown Clarksville may be demolished

The structure on Washington Street that formerly served as Wesley Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is likely to be razed through an arrangement pending with the city.(Photo: Jimmy Settle/The Leaf-Chronicle)

The Clarksville City Council has approved this month, on first reading, an ordinance to accept the donated Wesley Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church property, which would clear the way for the structure near downtown to be demolished and the property to be repurposed and improved.

A final vote is scheduled for the May session of City Council.

The Wesley Chapel property is at 1026 Washington St.

City officials have determined the building is unsafe for public occupation and that it needs to be razed.

One consideration, however, is that Citizens Savings Bank & Trust Co. still holds the mortgage on the church property, according to the ordinance, and the church still owes that bank a "sizable sum," said City Hall, for the church and lot.

So, a compromise was worked out pending the council's second-reading approval.

The ordinance allows the church to donate the building and land to the city of Clarksville.

In turn, the city's Office of Housing and Community Development would use Community Development Block Grant funds to demolish the church building.

Then, that half of the lot where the church was will be donated to Habitat for Humanity as a site for affordable housing.

The other half of the land would remain with the church, leaving it and the bank real property as security for the existing loan.

While Wesley Chapel CME has been in Clarksville since 1867, it has owned the Washington Street building since 1975. Before that, the church building was home of the Nazarene Church.

Reach Business Editor Jimmy Settle at 931-245-0247 and on Twitter @settle_leaf.